Saturday, October 31, 2009

He kept climbing out of the crib so we decided it was time to move him. In the past we have gone from crib to a twin mattress on the floor. We didn't have another mattress so we were on the look out. Raegan moved to a toddler bed a few months ago and it was sooooooo cute.

We tossed around the idea of maybe getting a toddler bed that could be used for Henry when Ben outgrows it. We aren't ready for bunk beds just yet and even though the boys' room is huge we wanted to preserve as much of their floor space as possible.

I priced toddler beds on-line and found one we liked with an affordable mattress. We weren't quite ready to spend the money so we waited, and waited, and waited. And while we waited God blessed us. I went to a consignment store and there set the exact bed we had found on-line. It's quite surreal to know that God gave you a desire of your heart when you didn't even ask for it. I know it's just a bed but I believe that because I waited, God blessed me.

I think he likes it! Now if we can just get him to stay there (he is getting better ;) ).

Friday, October 30, 2009

This year he decided he wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Does the fact that he didn't want the Tractor pan and wanted to make it himself mean he's growing up? If so, don't I get a say? ;)

The last picture of Tyler as a 6 year old. Believe it or not, this is a vast improvement over picture taking in years past.

And the first as a 7 year old. We went through a horribly long phase (and it sometimes re-appears) of Ty refusing to have a picture made. In fact, most birthdays, Christmas, etc. pictures show a Ty with red eyes from crying. Because of that I'm always a little surprised when I get a good one. LOL

We had our traditional birthday supper with menu determined by the birthday boy. This year it was ribs, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade mac and cheese, and green peas. He wanted broccoli and corn as well but we decided to limit the sides to three.

Ben is in his minimalist phase. He's getting the hang of potty training and these days I'm doing good if the boy is wearing underwear!

I mentioned Ty's aversion to the camera - well, Griffin has never had that issue!

The helpful big sister who peeled the potatoes for the wonderful meal.

The grill guru, Daddy. The kids love ANYTHING Kent grills but I have to agree, the ribs were fantastic.

Of course, our little Henry bug was there. I think he enjoyed the party.

I had this great plan to buy re-lighting candles. I thought Ty would really enjoy it and we'd all get a good laugh. I wasn't counting on my big boy blowing them out so hard that NONE of them re-lit.

Nana and Papaw came by (Papaw ate with us and Nana made it in time for cake) and delivered the 1st gift of the evening. It's a replica telescoping forklift with cranks and dials to make the boom move and interchangeable forks and buckets. It was a huge hit!

We decided to get Ty a GoBible. It's a MP3 player that's loaded with the KJV version of the Bible but it can be searched by topic (Love, Anger, etc), story (Noah, Adam, etc), chapter and verse. Madisyn has one and we've really been amazed at how much she has learned just from listening to it on her own. Ty was pretty excited about this as well.

Madisyn made Ty a box of handmade cards. She put a lot of time and thought into each one. I think he told her Thank You about 20 times. :)

Please excuse my dirty little boy - we did have chocolate cake and I already explained about the "minimalist phase". :) Ben had a great time playing in the box. He would close himself in it and wait for someone to ask "Where's Ben?", then he would giggle and pop out. He had such a good time.

This is one of my favorite pictures from Ty's birth. Madisyn seemed so big then but now I realize that she was just a baby herself. They don't always get along but I'm so proud of how well they compliment each other. They are often mistaken for twins and it won't be long before Madisyn will be the "little" sister.

I never imagined when Ty was born he would be the big brother to 3 little brothers. At birth he weighed in at 8 lbs 10 oz, at 68 lbs now he's still big for his age. I can't believe how blessed we are to have him in our lives. He is a joy and is growing into a wonderful young man. I so wish I had the work ethic and Bible knowledge as a 7 year old that he does. Sure he has ups and downs but he is really a very good boy that I love dearly.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

We no longer have a dog and our neighbors don't have loose pets (most of the time) so Kent determined it was safe for our chickens to be "free range". When the weather isn't terrible (ie rainy - which hasn't happened much the last few weeks), Ty lets the chickens out after he feeds them in the morning.

They roam the yard freely all day and after nap/quiet time, he feeds them again and puts them back in their cage. They eat bugs and fertilize the yard. :) Right now all of our chickens are hens so they don't bother the kids when they play. It's kind of like having a dog that doesn't like any attention. We really enjoy having the chickens and the fresh eggs they lay. They are more regular layers when they get out during the day.

Most of our 13 chickens are more than willing to return "home" with little effort. However, there seems to be about 3 that never want to go back in the cage.

They can get in the horse pen much easier than their jailers, so often a chase ensues.

We have determined that most days it's much quicker to let Ty put them up by himself.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

It seems we go from seasons of being busy to being more at rest. Though with 5 children, those periods of rest seem few and far between. When things get busy, the internet is the first thing to go. I have managed to carve out a little time to make Madisyn and her on the way GIRL cousin a few things.

This all started when I came across a new site to get embroidery designs, Designs by JuJu . I really liked the fall ones so I purchased a set. (A word of advice. When you have a crafting addiction and you find something adorable: Do Not- I repeat, DO NOT call your sister who has just as big of an addiction. Before you know it you will have ordered half the store. Wait - How is that a problem? Never mind. ;) )

Sometime after downloading the designs, I talked to Kristen and she mentioned that Izzy needed a Thanksgiving/Turkey dress. If making one girl's dress is fun then two is even better.

I felt the dress needed a little something at the bottom and this ric rac was perfect.

Henry is looking forward to having a baby GIRL model in the family. Then Momma will quit trying to talk him into trying things on (I did refrain from putting him in the dress :P ).

I LOVE this turkey. He is so cute. I stitched out a sample on a burpcloth and it's adorable on it as well.

Everyone knows that if you make a dress, it's breaking some law of fashion to NOT have a matching hairbow.

So here you go.

One for the big girl.

And one for the baby girl.

The inspiration of this bow was born because Izzy has a problem. See, she is going to be the best dressed infant in all the land but alas the poor girl had been given all these great pink Razorback outfits. Now in case you forgot the first rule of fashion - She NEEDED a hair bow to go with them. Sure a pink hairbow would have done the trick but this is much better.

A special thanks to Stephanie Price for fixing me up with the design. I see more Razorback bows in Izzy's future.

What do I make - besides messes? All sorts of things. I'm a frugal person by nature and I love boutique items. My budget however, doesn't love them so much. So what's a girl to do when she wants something that she really can't buy - she figures out a way to make it! My little business is called Sew Darlin' . I specialize in custom clothing and accessories for children. Right now my main focus is machine embroidery and hair bows - and I LOVE t0 combine the two! Click here for a peek at what I make. This is just a small sampling of what I can do. :)

About Me

I am a homeschooling, stay-at-home wife / mother to one fantastic man and 8 blessings from God! Kent and I have been married for 16 years. Our children include Madisyn (13), Tyler (12), Griffin (9), Ben (7) and Henry (5), Mary Claire (3), Liberty (2) and Felicity (1/14). We attend church at Lakeview Missionary Baptist where Kent is one of our pastors. We support people's rights to homeschool, home birth and run a home business. We try to live a natural life by making much of our food and trying to avoid trips to the doctor's office. I also enjoy learning about herbs, babywearing and cloth diapering.